Many families in our area have expressed concerns about a recent decision by the Missouri Supreme Court to uphold a state law allowing children to transfers out of failing school districts. As I’m sure you are aware, this is a particularly pressing issue in our area that borders the failing Kansas City School District. As I have talked to many of you, it has become clear that the uncertainty about the law has caused a great deal of confusion for everyone in our area. It is my hope to eliminate some of the confusion with this update.
What parents most need to know right now is that we are in a holding pattern as our school district and several others here in the Kansas City area wait on a court ruling for a similar but separate case. While schools in the St. Louis area are already processing transfer requests in the wake of the court ruling, our own district is waiting to see what the court decides on a lawsuit filed by the five Kansas City area school districts, which includes Blue Springs.
If you recall, a circuit court judge ruled last year that the state’s student transfer law was unconstitutional for the school districts of Lee’s Summit, Independence and North Kansas City, but not for Blue Springs or Raytown. The judge’s ruling was based on whether the transfer policy created an unfunded mandate that would cause the receiving districts to incur additional costs that would not be paid for by the state. It was his decision that the Blue Springs and Raytown districts could afford to receive students from the Kansas City School District, which would pay their per pupil costs for each transferring student, because their per pupil costs are less than those of the Kansas City district. As I am sure you know, this is a decision that the school district immediately appealed, and one that is now awaiting a decision from the Missouri Supreme Court.
In the meantime, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has put together transfer guidelines for school districts. In response, Dr. Paul Kinder, who is the superintendent of the Blue Springs School District, issued the following statement: “As you may be aware, this past week the Commissioner of Education issued guidelines regarding the transfer of students from unaccredited districts to accredited districts. This guidance was provided after a Missouri Supreme Court ruling in a case involving districts in the St. Louis area. I have been in discussions with local school officials and those from around the area and am reminded there is a different case pending in the Missouri Supreme Court regarding this issue. This case was brought by school districts on this side of the state who present different arguments for the court to consider. Area districts have indicated they are waiting for this case to be heard and do not plan to change admittance procedures at this point in time. I will continue to be in close communication with local school officials on this issue in the coming days, weeks, and months and will keep you apprised of any developments.”
So what does it all mean? The bottom line is that the ruling in the St. Louis case is impactful in that it seems clear that the Supreme Court is inclined to uphold the transfer law. And yes, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released its set of guidelines for student transfers. However, this does not mean that schools here in Blue Springs should be prepared to receive transfer students for the upcoming school year. In fact, as Dr. Kinder indicated in his statement, the district is not preparing to receiving students and doesn’t plan to allow transfers until the pending appeal is decided. That would mean transfers into the Blue Springs School District could not happen until the 2014-2015 school year at the earliest.
In the meantime, I will do all I can to work with the Blue Springs School District to prevent this poorly-conceived law from negatively impacting our schools. We have seen estimates that as many as 1,500 students could transfer from the failing Kansas City School District into the Blue Springs School District. Regardless of how much money the Kansas City district pays for each student, our district simply doesn’t have the buildings or teachers necessary to accommodate such an enormous influx of students. We must stand together to prevent this potentially devastating policy from becoming a reality.
In addition, I will do all I can in the halls of government in Jefferson City to help stave off this problem. The Missouri General Assembly has considered a legislative fix in recent years, but the bills have not made it all the way through the legislative process. I will certainly do all I can to help put such a proposal back on the table when the Missouri House convenes for session again in January.
Until then, I will do my best to keep you updated on this important issue. Please keep in touch and feel free to contact my office if you have any questions or concerns.
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